Is Dillard a transcendentalist?

Annie Dillard has a notorious reputation as a nature writer.  This title also leads to the idea that Dillard follows the style of transcendentalism.  This belief comes from the fact that Dillard’s writing typically “watches the details of her natural environment with a sense of amazement and is overwhelmed with the lessons which nature can teach her” (Reimer 184).  However, Dillard’s “preoccupation is more personal, less inclined to make final statements about the human and social order” (Reimer 186).   Rather than focusing completely on the elements of nature, Dillard is a natural observer who takes away important realizations and lessons from her experiences.

            While Dillard often writes essays that focus on nature and the description of an environment, the connections she creates are less universal and much more personally based.  Another difference is that Dillard almost never references other literary writers, and instead focuses “her attention almost completely on the observations of scientists and biblical writers” (Reimer 184).  Rather than criticize the corruptions that men run into when they stray from nature, Dillard focuses her attention simply on what can be learned from nature.  Her personal observations are at the heart of her works, and the conclusions she draws form the meaning she intends.  

Works Cited:

Reimer, Margaret Loewen. "The Dialectical Vision Of Annie Dillard's Pilgrim At Tinker Creek." Critique 24.3 (1983): 182. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 May 2013.